I had taken my baby to one of his immunization rounds and in
my usual maternal and child health advocacy/outreach duties I was reaching out
to fellow mums and striking up conversations when I noticed a particularly tiny
baby, I guessed she was just a few days old. The baby’s mum said she was
actually a month old. She explained her baby had what she called “Nza” that she
claimed makes newborns sick and wasted. She said orthodox medicine doesn’t treat
the condition so the baby was being treated the trado-medical way. I remember
imagining how this very tender and weak-looking baby is made to drink concoctions
of herbs and roots. She weighed 2.3kg.
As if that wasn’t enough shock for the day, I noticed
another girl of about 2-3 years old who had marks on her forehead and cheeks.
Deep, straight marks like the ones seen on Benin masks. Her mum said she (the
girl) is always sick so they figured out she was an Ogbanje and had to give her
those scars to cut her ties with the spirit world. At that moment I wished
there was a child welfare policy in our country which allows children to be
taken from their incapable parents, as I heard exists in the West. On a second thought, I believe these mums
were simply uninformed. They didn’t know any better. Most mums do what they
think is best for their children. If only they knew how much harm they were
exposing them to.
The sad thing is some of these harmful beliefs and practices
have gone on for too long and are steadfastly held unto by many rural-dwelling
mums. These mums often refuse being followed-up by health workers for fear of
God-knows-what. They always claim to be on top of the situation. I often
imagine how challenging it is for the nurses and doctors in rural areas. They
must have really seen it all.
I remember imagining how a child gets disadvantaged simply
by being born by a particular person or in a particular environment. At that
moment, the meaning of “Social Determinants of Health” sunk in.
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